The look on his face said that he’d never once in his life been called a princess before. “Sorry,” she said. “That was an automatic response. My dad used to say that to me whenever I complained about the rain. Do you know how often it rains in Odisha, India?”

“I’m betting less than Mobile, Alabama, where I once spent six months with my unit training the Maritime Safety and Security Team, and we never saw anything but pouring rain. Emphasis on pouring.”

“Six months straight, huh?” she asked sympathetically. “Okay, you win.”

His lips quirked. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

And with that, he took her hand and was her anchor as they ran through the wind to her beat-up old Jeep. She was actually grateful since the gusts nearly blew her away twice, saved only by his solid, easy footing. The man moved like he was at the top of the food chain, with quiet, economical, stealthy movements that if you knew what he did for a living made perfect sense.

She and Jenna waved to each other from across the lot, and when Jenna gave her a thumbs-up, Piper shook her head.

“Thanks for the drink,” she said, having to raise her voice to be heard over the wind.

“I’ll follow you to make sure you get home okay.”

“Not necessary, I’m fine.” Because no way was she falling for that line. There was flirting, and then there was being stupid. “And anyway, as a local, I should be checking on you to see if you get home okay.”

He laughed. And as it turned out, he had a great one, though she had no idea if he was so amused because he was touched by her worry for him, or because it was ridiculous, since clearly he could handle himself.

“I’m good,” he finally said. “Drive safe.” And then he stepped back, vanishing into the darkness.

Chapter 2

“Stressed is desserts spelled backward.”

Piper headed out of the bar parking lot, her Jeep swaying in the harsh winds. She hit the highway to get to the lake, and the slightly dilapidated, old—heavy emphasis on old—Victorian house and four small cottages on the east shore. It was there that she, Gavin, and Winnie had lived when their parents had sent them home to the States after . . .

Well, after their entire world had fallen apart, destroying each of them in their own way. Although, in hindsight, that event had been nothing compared to what had happened next—all nightmarish memories she didn’t want to face right now.

Or ever.

She’d been fixing up the cottages in between her shifts at the station. Once she got the property on the market and sold, they’d have some money to breathe, which would be a good thing because when she went off to school, she wouldn’t be able to help her siblings financially anymore.